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F. B. TOWNSEND.

RAILWAY CAR ROLLER SIDE BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6. 1915.

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RAILWAY CAR ROLLER SIDE BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 6, I915.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

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FREDERICK B. TOWNSEND, OF I-IINSDALE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB, I'D WILLIAM H. MINER, OF CHAZY, NEW YORK.

RAILWAY-CAR ROLLER SIDE BEARING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A11 1, 1916.

Application filed February 6, 1915. Serial No. 6,415.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK B. TowN- snm), a citizen of the United States, residing at Hinsdale, in the county of Dupage and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Railway-Car Roller Side Bearings, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact de scription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railway car roller side bearings.

Objects of the invention are to provide a roller side bearing for railway cars which is of compact form; provided with means arranged to automatically return the anti friction roller to normal position after each operation; having few parts readily assembled and operating with a minimum of friction; and having the spring and other parts directly cooperable therewith fully protected from the weather.

The invention furthermore consists in the improvements in the parts and devices and in the novel combinations of the parts and devices, as herein shown, described or claimed. 1

In the drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a roller side bearing embodying my improvements, the side cover plate being removed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central vertical sectional view of the side bearing illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 8 isa horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is avertical transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of one of the followers. I

In said drawing, 10 denotes a base casting or other form of retaining memberwhich is adapted, in practice, to be attached to the body bolster or truck bolster of a car. Said casting 10, as shown, comprisesspaced side walls 11-11, end walls 12-12, central end webs 13 concaved on their upper faces as indicated at 14 to limit the movement of the anti-friction roller 15. In the bottom of the casting 10 is provided a steel insert 16 to take the wear, which insert may be held in place by any suitable means such for instance as pean'ing the base casting as indicated at 17. The side walls 11-11 of the base casting are each provided with a rec.

tangular opening 18 with the longest dimen- SlOIl extending horizontally and in said openings 18 loosely fit and reciprocate longitudinally, the ends 1919 of two spring followers 2020 which extend transversely through the anti-friction roller 15, the latter being hollowed out as clearly indicated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4:. Each of the spring followers 20 (see Fig. 5) at the center thereof is provided with a substantially cylindrical recess 21 in which is adapted to be seated and retained the end of a spring 22. The end wall forming each recess 21 in each spring follower 20,'is curved on its out-er face as indicated most clearly at 23 in Fig. 2 and the curvature thereof corresponds with the curvature of the inner wall'QL of the roller. As shown, the interior of the roller 15 is larger at the center where the spring receiving pocket of the spring follower is inserted than at the sides so that off-set ends 19 of the spring followers will overlap the sides of the anti-friction roller as clearly indicated in Fig. 3' and thereby prevent extended lateral relative movement between the spring followers and the anti-friction roller. In order to protect the spring followers, spring and interior of the roller from the weather, side cover plates 25 are inserted in grooves 26 in the walls 11 of the base casting, said cover plates being held in position by suitable means, for instance by peaning the side walls as indicated at 27. (See Fig. l).

In assembling the device, the anti-friction roller is first put in position, after which the spring followers with the spring therebetween under compression, are inserted transversely through one opening 18, of the side wall 11 and then through the opening in the roller until the spring followers extend on both sides of the roller. Upon release of the spring followers the latter are forced apart by the spring 22 and the parts assume the position shown in the drawings, thus preventing the accidental removal or disengagement of the roller or other elements. The cover plates 25 are finally put in place and secured.

In operation, as the roller is rotated in either direction from its central normal position, one of the spring followers 20 will of course remain stationary and the roller will move away therefrom. At the same time, "the rotating movement of the roller will m e t e othe Spring follower 20 toward the stationary spring follower, thus com pressing the spring therebetween. At the end of the rotating movement of the roller and upon release of the pressure therefrom, the spring now under compression will expand and throw or project the anti-friction roller back to its normal position and this without rotating the roller in the reverse direction to any appreciable extent. This operation, as will be apparent, continually changes the engaging surfaces of the antifrictionroller both with the bearing plate 16 and with the corresponding plate on the adjacent truck or body bolster. It will also be observed that a minimum of friction results in the operation of the roller. Fur,- thermore, a single spring is employed to return the roller to normal from either side thus minimizing the number of parts. All of the parts may be manufactured at rela- 'tively small expense; the device maybe readily inspected when in service; the parts may be readily assembled or disassembled and repairs easily made by even unskilled labor; the spring, spring followers and interior of the anti-friction roller are well protected from the weather; and an unsually wide sur-,

face bearing of the anti-friction roller is ob tained relatively to the width of the base casting by which it is carried.

Although I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred embodiment of my improvements, yet it will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and arrangements of parts, without departing from the spirit of the in vention and all such changes and modifications are contemplated as come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim 1. In a roller side bearing, the combination with a retaining member, of an antifriction roller mounted thereon, and means for detachably connecting said roller with said member and permitting the roller to move bodily relatively thereto, said means including a spring entirely located within the roller adapted to exert its expanding force in lines radial to the roller.

2. In a roller side bearing, the combination with a retaining member, of an antifriction roller mounted thereon, and means for detachably connecting said roller with said member and permitting the roller tomove bodily relatively thereto, said means including a spring located within the roller, and elements extending transversely through said roller in engagement with said member.

3. In a roller side bearing, the combination with a retaining member, of a bodily movable anti-friction roller mounted on said member, and an expansible and contractible journal extending through said roller and having the ends thereof slidable in slots in said member.

4. In a roller side bearing, the combination with a base casting having spaced side walls, of a roller mounted between saidwalls, said walls being provided with longitudinally arranged slots, and readily insertible and detachable means extending through said roller and having the ends thereof slidable in said slots, said means including a pair of spring followers and a spring, therebetween, the spring being confined within the roller.

6. In a roller side bearing, the combination with a casting having spaced side walls each of which is provided with a. longitudinally extending slot, of a hollow anti-friction roller mounted between said side walls and bearing upon the bottom of said casting, elements extending transversely through said hollow roller and having the ends there of slidable in said slots and limited in their movements thereby, and yieldable means between said elements whereby upon movement of the roller in one direction one of said elements is held stationary and the other element is moved toward it to compress said yielding means so as to cause movement of the roller in an opposite direction.

7. In a roller side bearing, the combination with a retaining member having spaced walls provided with slots therein, of an antifriction roller mounted between said walls, and a compressible and expansible journal extending through said roller and having the ends thereof movable in said slots, said journal being insertible and removable when in contracted condition. y V

8. A device of the character described comprising a retaining member, a roller cooperable therewith, said roller being provided with a self contained spring and interlocking followers adapted to return said roller to its normal position after being actuated therefrom.

ELIZABETH M. BRITT, J osnrn Hxnnrs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, .by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I). G. 

